Not yet sold on the idea that watching awful people be miserable is something I want to dedicate hours of my life to, but pilot episodes are always a little shaky, even if this one was shakier than most.
And while the writing was hit and miss, I absolutely hated most of the filmmaking. From the camerawork to the editing, this found a way to press nearly every one of my buttons in the worst way. Really hoping they cut back on this style as the show goes on.
The performances were spectacular, though.
And I thought that Roman guy was the only likable character. And then comes the the baseball scene... The whole family seems to be comprised of assholes—except Marcia, don't know what her deal is yet. Did enjoy the episode nonetheless, let's hope it doesn't get cancelled like Here and Now.
It's a risky thing to write a television show about a group of people who are, and I think this is possibly too mild, utterly abhorrent. The closest thing we get to a sympathetic character here is Cousin Greg, an outcast and half-forgotten relative who is given an opportunity to try and wedge his way into the inner circle of his great-uncle, the not-Rupert-Murdoch-stand-in Logan Roy. What makes the first episode so compelling is how well-drawn this cast of terrible people are; Jesse Armstrong takes much of the 'can't look away' factor from Peep Show and transfers it to a more high-flying concept. Kendall Roy rapping in the back of his chauffeured car and trying to 'dude' and 'shizz' his way through a takeover meeting is pure cringe television. Roman Roy cheerfully treating those around him, including a child, with nothing less than utter contempt is nearly painful to watch. The rest of the unfortunates drift around Logan, alternately simpering and jostling for his attention and favour.
Much is done here to set up the family dynamic, but it never feels too obvious or over-done. Characters are sketched out in broad strokes but they're compelling enough despite their flaws for me to want to spend more time with them. Like being in the court of a Roman emperor, I'm interested to see these people destroy themselves through their own hubris and utter lack of self-awareness. It's competently done, with Adam McKay in The Big Short mode, although thankfully the knowing, irritating tone of that film has been dialled back significantly. The pieces are in place at the episode's end for the succession battle to really begin, and I am, as the phrase goes, 'here for it'.
Some of the dialogue in here felt really weird, especially when paired with some of the camera work. Not sure I liked the random zooms, but overall, I think this definitely has the potential to be a great show.
15 minutes in and I'm about to fall asleep
This was a fantastic opening episode to the series, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how the Roy family tear each other apart as they pursue a higher rank in Logan's media conglomerate, Waystar Royco. Firstly, on the theme song, it was beautifully composed. The way it place shots of modern era technology to old-fashioned tech to represent the long-standing legacy of the Roy media company, how they've lasted through massive technological and cultural change in the world, was fantastic, fully exemplifying the history and dominance of the conglomerate. Also, on reflection, I enjoy the Lawrence guy, the man who Kendall (barely) was able to make a business dealing with, with it heavily favoring Lawrence in terms of stock and money. I just liked seeing Lawrence shit-talk Kendall, mocking how unqualified he is for his job, and how reliant his is (an longer can be) on his father for protection.
Regarding the show's content, it's clear a big recurring theme of the series would be the power of greed on people's behavior, particularly it's effects on family bonds, with all of the Roy family (except Connor?) wanting the CEO position after Logan retires, and willing to take others down to raise their position in the company..The characters really are all detestable people (minus Marcia and Connor for now), with how little disregard they have for other people, just concerned about gaining power and not caring about what means they use to achieve it (with Kendall even talking shit about Logan behind his back to undermine him). Watching them all basically beg Roy for a top position really makes me cringe inside, seeing how shameless the family is. Moreover, from the man paying off the rural family to not expose Roman's petty actions at the baseball game, to the housekeeper cleaning up Logan and presumably Kendall's messes, its clear another recurring idea throughout the series is that someone will always be there to clean up the Roy family's messes from the shadows, as they carry out their lives. Succession is the perfect title for this show, fully capturing how this show will explore family rivalry's tearing each other apart as the Roy siblings fight for top positions and CEO in the Waystar media company, owned by their father, Logan Roy. Regarding Logan Roy, it's clear he's the top dog of the family, with him being the founder and CEO of the Waystar media company, and extremely powerful international media conglomerate. And man, its clear Logan's used to having his way with people, with him just doing as he pleases with no regards for others feelings, the relationships he's built with others, and promises he made with others (such as when he essentially tricked Kendall into signing papers that gave Marci, Logan's wife, double voting power and expecting the other Roys to do the same). But it's clear, from the opening scene of him peeing in a closet, that he's becoming old and needs to retire soon, and with today's surprising twist ending with him getting hospitalized, its looking like he may be forced to retire a lot sooner than he hoped.
First off there's Kendall Roy, the cocky businessman who prances about as if he owns the company, and has a strong desire to impress his father, and show he's worthy of the CEO position after he retires. And he's constantly doing his best to seek Logan's approval. Although, its clear Logan doesn't think he's ready, with him completely disregarding his more amicable approach to business dealings, believing he's too "soft," and also believing he may not be mentally fit for the CEO position, referencing him spending time in rehab for drug abuse (despite this being 3 years ago). Then there's Roman Roy, the crude, arrogant man who failed in executive instruction under 30-year company veteran Frank, but still slides his way into Logan's company, seeking more power under the conglomerate. And man, how shamelessly Roman belittled and toyed with that kid, ripping up the check in his face and telling him to go back to his humble life, really cemented Roman as the worst of the bunch, as someone obsessed with flaunting his unearned power and wealth over those below him.Connor Roy seems perfectly content with his rich, effortless life, having seemingly no desire to overtake the firm and is just going on about his days. There's Shiv Roy, the woman of the family, whose dabbling in politics but still wants the top position at the conglomerate. There's her boyfriend, Tom, who desperately seeks approval from Logan, and wants his respect, but just can't seem to achieve that, with Logan constantly disregarding him and his efforts. And it's looking like Tom's going to be taking out his frustrations on Cousin Greg, someone who he sees as below him and can be messed around with. . And then there's Greg, the most sympathetic of the bunch, and cousin of the Roys, an outcast and unknown relative to the Roy family whose just lost his job at one of Waystar's amusement park and is trying to wedge his way into Logan's good side to win over his favor (and thus help for another job).
callous, frightening, sickening, i really hate this show but it's well made
I'm not sure I want to watch this any further.
I mean sure, the maladjusted sociopaths of the elite rich are people too. They have everyday struggles, personal slaves and their own hopes and dreams just like the rest of us, sure.
But I don't give a shit.
I'm not rooting for any of the characters. I'm neither enthralled nor am I having any fun really.
Is it a dispute to know who is the most scoundrel? The scene in the game with the boy, pure sadism, remains the one that most impressed me every time I've seen this pilot.
The scene when the guy throws up through the costume, amazing :ok_hand:
Mmm how unconfortable... I'm in
It does start slow, but as the episode progresses, the show becomes engrossing.
I have a bit of a problem with the amount of swearing in the show, sometimes I had the impression that the showrunners were participating in some competition how many f-bombs one can drop in a single episode.
Too many male characters to be enjoyable.
took me too long to finish this episode, continuing because friends said its good
The subject matter didn't really get me in front of the tv, but decided to finally give it a chance, and 10 minutes in; I was on board. Way funnier than I expected, and what a style and writing so far.
First episode, and I already feel shocked. :sweat_smile:
Interesting beginning - although so far none of the characters has any redeeming qualities. But I'll give this a chance.
Honestly this episode is one of the most disappointing pieces of work I have seen in a long time. Just the most pure example of the "Prestige Tv Tropes" without anything real coming off of it. Arrogant characters, soft but strong background music, power struggle thinly veiled behind stoic acting. Just all of the cliches without anything that actually means anything.
ohh i get why the Tumblr girlies love this show, it's filled to the brim with pathetic little meow meows.
Roman looks like Harry Potter
Okay, I'm totally in! Interesting how most of the characters/family members are unlikable. Maybe Shiv is okay. I like Roman just from an entertaining perspective but the baseball scene made him an outright ass.
The entry point into this world, Nicholas Braun's Greg Hirsch is just as off putting, which is an extremely interesting move. But yeah, he's not likable either.
This show is not well to look at. The coloring and lighting are dull, and the Office editing is annoying and makes the already weak sense of humor eye roll worthy. There is the potential for a lot of hilarious jokes here and it's clear that some of these scenes are supposed to be funny, but the dialogue and the way that the lines are executed by the actors (Nicholas Braun exempt, Greg is really funny to me) just makes it awkward and runs the bit into the ground. Like, for example, during the baseball game, when Roman calls over that kid to help him play baseball, I chuckled, but then the dialogue and acting just was not good during a genuinely funny scenario. Even if this wasn't clearly something that was supposed to be comedic, the serious and dramatic parts of this episode were either funny on accident or were also made awkward due to the dialogue. This is especially the case when it pertains to Kendall, who I cannot stand. The way that Jeremy Strong plays this character is so infuriating I feel like this was not the correct casting choice, so when he's talking to Lawrence and says things for example about putting a silver dildo violently up his ass, for example, there is no bite to it, and that's how so much of the dialogue for this episode is. If this was intentional, I'm not sure why that decision was made. I am not a fan. I will be watching episode 2. One thing I will give it is that the format of this as a pilot episode was well done because it sets up all the conflicts between the characters and then ends with a dramatic action that pulls apart the events of the episode and leads nicely into the rest of the show.
Succession Important Characters (not including Logan) Ranked on Episode 1:
1. Greg
2. Tom (I hate him. He is such a bizarre character I've never seen anything like it)
3. Shiv
4. Roman
5. Kendall
Ha! “Super Max Pussy Grip” ha!
Fantastic 1st episode.
Do yourself a favor and watch this show.
I mention names during this review, but the only way I knew any of them is because of the reference row below the review div. I had to turn on subtitles several times, too, due to all the haggardly recited and mumbled lines.
I'm not sure how I feel about Jeremy Strong being fist billed in this show. Yes, they're all utterly contemptable, save the children, Rava, and possibly Marcia, but Kendall is going to have to show some extra dimensionality as the show picks up, because I care less about him than anyone-- but this is just the pilot, which I liked, save the cheap, wobbly, network TV-style lazy-zooming. I suppose it's supposed to feel more "down-to-earth", but I can really appreciate an excellently executed push-in (the best I've ever seen was in the Danish film, Thomas Vinterberg's The Hunt), so it's disappointing as a "style".
How boring you find this I'm sure will largely be up to your upbringing, and how invested in corporate bullshit you are. The "poor" people in this show live better than I have or do, but the high level business stuff is something I care enough about to understand, so it's compelling. I'll have to see where the show goes from here, but so far I'm on board for the ride. Brian Cox is always an anchor, Alan Ruck's Connor is almost likable, and I love Kieran Culkin. Roman is a real piece of shit, but Kieran makes him dynamic and interesting to watch. I feel like Hiam's Marcia is waiting in the wings to exert her will, and show a bit more of her personality.
Baseball scene was it for me. Not watching,
I'll keep watching because everyone is raving about it. Let's see if it gets more interesting.
They're too obnoxious, don't know if I'll be able to put up with them throughout the whole season. Also it seems to be mainly focused on the dealmaking stuff and little on the media business. I kind of expected it to be like an upper floor The Newsroom. Can anyone tell me if it's just like this?
Shout by Peter van der MeijBlockedParent2018-06-11T19:03:00Z
I like the story but the camera work, especially the zooming, is annoying and poorly done.